'An Amazing Gift': Foster Parents Leave Legacy of Love for More Than 100 Babies During 43 Years
On a living room wall in Ron and Jane Brown's St. Cloud home, a decal bears witness to a sentiment the couple has been living out for more than four decades:
"Children deepen the heart of a home."
And on the side of a Little Free Library in front of their home are the words "Every child is a story yet to be told."
Ron and Jane would know.
Over 43 years, the couple has fostered more than 100 children ages 2 and younger. They retired from fostering at the end of June. Jane said it was purely age that pushed them to retire — they'd do it all over again.
The couple was licensed to care for children up to age 2, and began fostering in August 1978. Catholic Charities has since discontinued its adoption and pregnancy services, and Ron and Jane moved to Lutheran Social Service.